Chasing Shadow (Shadow Puppeteer) (30 page)

“The shards tore her up pretty badly,” Amber said. She stooped down beside me.

“What a way to go,” Rose said.

I couldn’t get my eyes to follow her movement. Instead, I had a great view of the water shooting up from the floor. Rex stood over them and D was not within my sight. As long as they stayed in my peripheral vision I could see them, but the details were blurred. Was Rex afraid to come closer? Why couldn’t I move?

Amber’s fingers burnt my neck. “No pulse.”

Rose stepped closer. “There’s nothing we can do for her. We need to get out of here. I can levitate the elevator, but we need to get moving before the water weighs it down.”

No! They couldn’t leave me behind. I didn’t want to drown. I didn’t want to be alone.

“We’re not leaving her,” Rex said.

My throat was raw. God, I wished the laughter would end. I wish my inner battery would run low. More than anything, I wished for silence.

“She’s dead,” Rose yelled.

I heard that over the growing laughter. It was in my head. They couldn’t hear it.

“Amber?” Rex asked.

“She’s dead,” Amber confirmed.

The madness was growing. It was bigger than me. The shadows weren’t even here. I was utterly alone.

“You were a brave warrior,” Rex said. His lips were as hot as Amber’s fingers when he kissed my forehead. “Today, we won a battle and tomorrow we will carry on the war. Rest in peace.”

They had to hear the laughter. It was louder than the rumble of their voices. It wouldn’t end.

“We don’t leave our fallen behind,” Amber said.

Rose was the first to stand. “Right now, we need to think of the living.”

Water sloshed around their legs as they moved away. My world closed around me. I wasn’t going to drown, because I was dead and trapped in this body.

I couldn’t save the captain.

I couldn’t save myself.

I
jolted in surprise as the night crashed back into me. My body hurt, but there was a great deal of relief in feeling the pain. I wasn’t dead.

The world was silent and moist, but not wet. I pulled air into my lungs, not water.

My scream fell short. My throat was dry and my larynx felt shredded.

Images rushed through my mind, D on the lab table and Rose shooting at the scared patrollers. I could still feel the heat from Amber’s fingers pressed against the cold of my neck.

“No pulse,”
she said.

Rex kissed the top of my head.

Every breath I took drew fabric in and out of my mouth. I pushed my hands upward, noting that my torn fingers only hurt in the joints. I pulled the sheet from my face and dirt fell in my mouth.

The cold made my body stiff, which made digging difficult. At least the grave was shallow. The dirt was freezing and I understood why the moment I sat up. Snow carpeted the forest. It wasn’t this cold when I was in Ardent and Xyla. How long was I buried?

I pulled myself from the grave and every frozen joint in my body screamed in agony. Nothing marked my grave. Not a stick or a stone. I was meant to be forgotten. I couldn’t believe that’s how Rex and Amber wanted it. I didn’t ask them to follow me, but they did.

Now I was on my own. That was fine. I started something and I intended to see it through, which meant I needed to get to Mississippi and hope the Diablos would help me.